The company next month plans to demonstrate a new version of its widely used Windows operating system that targets low-power devices and adds support for chips based on designs from ARM Holdings PLC as well as the x86 chip technology offered by Intel and Advanced Micro Devices Inc., these people said. Microsoft will discuss the software at the Consumer Electronics Show in early January, though it isn’t expected to be available for two years, they added.
A Microsoft spokesman declined to comment, as did an Intel spokesman. An ARM spokeswoman also declined to comment.
Microsoft, based in Redmond, Wash., has struggled to match its dominance in PC operating systems in markets such as smartphones and a new breed of consumer tablets that Apple has come to dominate since introducing the iPad last spring.
Chips based on designs licensed by ARM consume less power than most x86 chips, helping to make them an overwhelming favorite in smartphones. Microsoft already sells versions of Windows for cellphones that support the technology, but has remained firmly committed to x86 chips in the mainstream version of the product used in PCs and server systems.

About the Author

Onuora Amobi is the Founder and VP of Digital Marketing at Learn About The Web Inc. Onuora has more than a decade of information security, project management and management consulting experience. He has specialized in the management and deployment of large scale ERP client/server systems.

In addition to being a former Microsoft MVP and the founder and editor of EyeOnWindows.com, he is the CEO of a Pasadena based online marketing education startup - Learn About The Web Inc. (www.learnabouttheweb.com) and The Redmond Cloud (https://www.theredmondcloud.com).